Why the gender discrimination lawsuit against Nike is so significant
The women’s revolt at Nike has moved from the company’s corporate offices in Oregon to the federal courts. Four women who worked in the corporate headquarters at the sports apparel company filed a class-action lawsuit..., claiming that Nike violated the Equal Pay Act by engaging in systemic gender pay discrimination and ignoring rampant sexual harassment. The former employees said that women who work for the company are paid less for doing the same work as their male colleagues, receive smaller bonuses, and are less likely to get promoted, according to the complaint...[T]he lawsuit shows that some female workers aren’t satisfied with vague promises...Women working at Nike’s headquarters...said they complained to human resources managers for years about demeaning treatment and sexual harassment...The women said their complaints to human resources didn’t change anything...In their complaint, the women question the company’s ability to police itself and reform its practices...[P]laintiffs...want the court to force Nike “to develop and institute reliable, validated, and job-related standards for evaluating performance, determining pay, and making promotion decisions.” They also want a court-appointed monitor to make sure Nike complies with the plan, and they want Nike to offer back jobs to the women who left because of the alleged discrimination. This kind of multipronged demand is known as a “structural reform mandate,” and it could involve a variety of reforms...[I]f the Nike lawsuit is successful, the demand for structural reform at the company could become a model for other workers who want an equal opportunity to succeed.